The facade of St. Peter's Basilica behind the statue of St. Peter at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)Proceedings of an un-publicized series of workshops at the Vatican earlier this year reveal controversial conversations taking place ahead of this fall’s Synod on the Family.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, is expressing concern about several aspects of the Synod, including the push for changes in the handling of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics as well as the way that information about the Synod is being "manipulated".
The fifth, sixth and seventh sessions of the historic Synod on the Family continued to discuss "difficult pastoral situations" such as same-sex marriages, cohabitation, the divorce, and polygamy.
Married couples from the United States and Australia addressed the Synod of Bishops on Monday and offered an intimate glimpse of how average Catholics view Church teaching on the subject of marriage and the family.
The Vatican announced on Saturday that Pope Paul VI will be beatified on October 19.
Contrary to recent media reports, the questionnaire presented by Pope Francis to Catholics worldwide seeking their opinions on pastoral challenges to the family, such as those involving divorce and same-sex marriage, is not an opinion poll but a preparatory document for next year's Synod of Bishops on the Family.
